Essential railway upgrades this weekend will see changes to Thameslink and EMR journeys south of Luton

Network Rail has issued the following press release:

Passengers are being urged to check before they travel ahead of engineering work this weekend that will see buses replacing Thameslink and East Midlands Railways trains south of Luton.

Engineers will be working between Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October to:

• Continue work to upgrade the overhead lines which powers trains and track south of Bedford, specifically on the St Albans to Luton section of the line.
• Carry out enabling work for the Radlett Strategic Rail Freight Interchange.
• Complete other maintenance jobs to improve safety and the reliability of the railway network.

The engineering work will allow smoother, faster, and quieter journeys for passengers travelling to and from the East Midlands and London, as well as enabling more freight to be transported by rail in the future.

Upgrading the overhead lines south of Bedford between St Albans and Luton will mean East Midlands Railway (EMR) can run its new fleet of electric trains up to 125mph in the future.

Separate to Network Rail’s work, industrial and logistics warehouse developer, SEGRO, are constructing a new bridge which will be slid underneath the tracks on the Midland Main Line in December to enable future access between the rail network and the Radlett Strategic Rail Freight Interchange.

Part of the preparation for this involves relocating and upgrading overhead line equipment on the Midland Main Line between St Albans and Watford.

Thameslink* and EMR* will be operating a revised train service while the work is carried out, with buses replacing all trains between Luton and Mill Hill Broadway, north of London St Pancras.

Passengers are advised to plan ahead via National Rail Enquiries as their journeys may be impacted or via EMR’s and Thameslink's social media channels and website.

Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Midlands route said: “Upgrading the overhead line equipment between St Albans and Luton is the next stage in our continuous work to bring passengers smoother and faster journeys to and from London.

“While this work is ongoing, teams will also be upgrading the overhead lines for the Radlett Strategic Freight Interchange ahead of the new bridge which will be slid into place over the festive period. Other small jobs will also be underway to improve the safety and reliability of the rail network.

“We would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding while we continue with these vital railway improvements.”

Jenny Saunders, Govia Thameslink Railway Customer Services Director said: “We won’t have any trains between Luton and Mill Hill Broadway this weekend because of this essential improvement work to the network by Network Rail.

“Thameslink trains will run between Bedford and Luton and between London and Mill Hill Broadway only and for many you’ll need to take a bus which will take longer. Please check ahead on our Thameslink website.”

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London this weekend (19 and 20 October) to check their journeys in advance by looking for updates on the EMR website.

“We are working closely with Network Rail to keep customers moving throughout the engineering work, and EMR services will be running where possible, however journey times will be longer than normal with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst the vital signalling work on the Midland Mainline takes place. This work will greatly benefit our customers in the future with more reliable journeys to and from London.”

ENDS